Chapter Twenty-Three
Taryn
I hadn’t been sure Rhydek was right. I’d been having cramps all day, but they were something I was used to, and I brushed them off the way I always had when I had to work.
And then I saw the bed.
The tangled sheets and flattened pillows.
It wasn’t right.
I had no idea how much time passed as I tore apart and rearranged the bedding. All I could think about was where everything was supposed to be, and the heat.
Not the heat from the surface, reflected by the sand and stone, pressing in from all sides. This heat began in my core, expanding until it filled all of me, fighting to get out.
I was panting by the time there was a chime from the door, drenched in sweat, belly tensing every few minutes.
The cramps had gone from ignorable to making me double over in pain, and the liquid drenching my pants certainly wasn’t sweat.
I’d worried it was urine when I first noticed it, but the scent rising from the material was sweet and musky.
“Taryn?”
The head that peeked through the door wasn’t Rhydek’s, and I snarled at the intruder before I knew what I was doing. Snatching up a pillow, I launched it at her as she stepped into the room, but she sidestepped the projectile as if she’d been expecting it.
“I’m one of the Karzhari. I’m here to help you.”
The word Karzhari caught my attention, but my brain was slow to tell me what it was. It had seemed like they were some kind of priestess group who focused on omegas and the bonding process if I was remembering the right word.
The female staring at me had smaller ridges than most of the male Morraki I had seen, almost hidden by her dark green hair. She was also paler than a lot of them, her skin brown like Rhydek’s, but closer to cinnamon than Rhydek’s espresso.
Her blue kethra remained steady, and as the soft sent of something light and floral reached me, I relaxed.
“I… I’m in heat?”
It was all I could think to say. The Karzhari nodded, coming closer with a small smile on her face.
“Yes, your trehvyr has begun. It is time to prepare for Zha’Khorr Valryn.”
I struggled to understand the unfamiliar sounds but gave up when another cramp made me clutch my belly and groan. The woman moved to the side of the bed, careful not to touch anything as she held a small jug out to me.
“This will help the pain, for a time. Drink it, and then we go to the River Caverns to cool you.”
The mention of a bath reminded me that my scalp itched with sweat and sand. Rhydek had brought me straight home instead of going to wash first, and that thought led to the realization that I was sitting naked in front of this stranger, having removed my clothing once I’d soaked it.
“Oh, I…”
I had been reaching for the jug but pulled my arm back to cover my breasts as I tugged a blanket over my legs with the other hand. The Karzhari’s smile remained serene, hand steady.
“It is perfectly natural to avoid drevarn in trehvyr. You are not the first omega I have seen nude, nor even the first Human. Your comfort is all that matters.”
I was reluctant to uncover myself, but her reassurance helped. Plus, I was going to be naked in front of a lot more than one Morraki soon enough.
Sighing, I reached for the jug again, bringing it close to my nose. The medically trained part of me wanted to question what was in it before drinking it, but the moment I drew in a breath, my mouth watered.
Tangy and musky, it held traces of Rhydek’s pine and leather scent, along with something herby. I caught myself drinking it before I made the conscious decision, the saltiness keeping me swallowing until every drop was gone.
A warm tingle bloomed in my stomach, but it was gentler than what burned in my veins. I spread from my middle, calming some of the restless energy and heat crawling beneath my skin.
My eyes fluttered closed and I sighed again, but this time in relief.
“Better?”
I didn’t bother opening my eyes, nodding to the question.
“Good. Then it is time to go.”
My brows lowered as I opened my eyes and I was about to protest before I remembered the promise of a bath. I didn’t want to leave the bed, but I did want to wash away the sweat and the lingering sand that had slipped beneath the thavren.
Pressing my lips together, I shifted to the edge of the bed. It took effort to stand, but I was distracted from how exposed I was when the Karzhari pulled a bundle of fabric from behind her.
It was the same orange as Rhydek’s kethra when he was calm, but shimmered in a way that made it seem to shift colors the way his did.
When she shook it out it unfolded to reveal a short robe that would stop just above my knees, and when she held it out for me to touch, I knew it was made from the same silk as several of the blankets I’d collected.
“It’s so soft.”
“It’s all yours. You can wear it down to the River Caverns.”
Glad I wouldn’t be paraded nude through all of Korvashan, I let her slip it around me and tie the belt at my side. The front dipped low, exposing a wide view of cleavage, but I wasn’t going to complain when nothing else I had was nearly as soft.
“Come.”
Turning, she headed for the door, and although I hesitated, throwing another look at the bed, I was following her before she reached it.
She was at the door to the tunnels by the time I reached the main room, and I paused again, looking around for Rhydek.
He’d told me he would stay, and while the scent of him was strong enough to make me think he hadn’t been gone long, he wasn’t there.
My stomach twisted as a chill speared through my chest, but I pushed the sensation away. I would be seeing him soon enough.
But a tiny whisper in the back of my mind asked if I really would. He’d never hid his reluctance, or the fact that he was choosing a mate out of duty.
I knew I had the option to back out until he claimed me, but did he have the option as well? Could he do the Morraki version of leaving me at the altar?
Water pooled in my eyes as my stomach dropped, but I blinked it away, refusing to entertain what-ifs. I had to believe that Rhydek wouldn’t do that to me.
The walk down all the stairs to the River Caverns was a blur. I remembered moving, voices surrounding me, soft touches guiding my way. The air grew cooler, the stone damp beneath my feet, sound and even scent growing distant as darkness encroached.
It was as if there was a haze between me and the world created by all the clamoring sensations within. The flow of air over my skin was distracting. The brush of the robe made my nipples pebble as I shivered. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, my vision seeming to pulse in time with it.
Everything narrowed down to the thrum of desire between my thighs and the clench of need low in my belly.
I didn’t remember being led past other pools, only blinking at the one that appeared before me. It was surrounded by candles and glowing plants, and dark shapes the size of people moved beyond them, but I couldn’t think past washing the grit and itchiness from my flesh.
Either the pool was cooler than any other I’d tried on Morrakan, or I was burning up. Maybe both, but it felt wonderful against my fevered flesh even though it made me shiver until my teeth chattered.
Hands surrounded me, urging me to do something, but I couldn’t make sense of what they wanted. A low thrum vibrated the air and water surrounding me, the sensation sinking into my muscles and loosening them until I floated in the water.
Blinking up at the stalactites above, I hummed in time with the throb around me, letting my mind drift with my body. There was a voice, I knew it was meant for me, but the words drifted away before I could catch them.
There was no time in the pool, only a sense of waiting. What we were waiting for was elusive, until a sudden cramp had me gasping. I would have gone under if hands hadn’t been there to hold me up when I jackknifed from the water and everything came rushing back in a moment of clarity.
I was with the Karzhari in the River Caverns, preparing for the ceremony that was the Morraki version of a wedding. Except this wedding was more primal, with the couple naked and joining in a less figurative and more fleshy way than Humans practiced.
Or perhaps we had done something similar in our past, before we lost touch with who we were and what we’d evolved from.
Gentle voices and firm touches urged me from the pool, quickly drying me and wrapping my new robe around me once more.
My nose wrinkled for a moment as I looked at the sleeve.
Orange had never been my favorite color, but when I moved and the glow of a nearby pink flower reflected from it, it reminded me of sunset.
I’d always enjoyed watching the sun sink at the end of the day, colors and light chased away by a dark view of the stars.
“It’s time. We must climb.”
I focused on the stairs in front of me and groaned, sending the woman by my side a beseeching look.
My thighs already quivered, and the deep ache between my hips was enough to make me regret descending to the River Caverns to bathe since I knew the Bonding Hall was on the same level as Rhydek’s home.
She wasn’t the same one who had retrieved me, but she had the same soft, understanding smile as she cupped my elbow and urged me forward.
I had to stop to catch my breath each time a cramp gripped me.
They were growing more intense, coming closer together as I strained upwards on the never-ending stairs.
Hand trailing along the wall to keep me upright, elbow held firm to keep me moving, it took a moment before I realized I’d finally reached the top, one foot hovering midair as if waiting for another step to appear.
“Almost there.”